A joke is not a thing but a process, a trick you play on the listener's mind. You start him off toward a plausible goal, and then by a sudden twist you land him nowhere at all or just where he didn't expect to go.
It is the ability to take a joke, not make one, that proves you have a sense of humour.
Forgive, O Lord, my little jokes on Thee
And I'll forgive Thy great big one on me.
Hello, Condoleezza Rice? You have me to deal with now.
The Irish gave the bagpipes to the Scots as a joke, but the Scots haven't seen the joke yet.
I don't make jokes; I just watch the government and report the facts.